Method for driving display including curved display area, display driving circuit supporting the same, and electronic device including the same

ABSTRACT

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device may include a display, a processor operatively connected to the display and configured to generate display data to be output on the display, a display driver integrated circuit configured to output, on the display, the display data received from the processor, wherein the display driver integrated circuit is configured to apply a color transformation value of the same or different magnitude to display data based on a distance from a specified point of the display to a location where the display data are to be displayed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/546,480, filed Aug. 21, 2019, which is a Continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/689,200, filed Aug. 29, 2017 (now U.S. Pat. No.10,397,513), which claim priority to KR 10-2016-0110320, filed Aug. 29,2016, the entire contents of which are all hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to driving a display includinga curved display area.

BACKGROUND

A conventional electronic device may include a display and may provide auser with various screens visually through the display. The displayincludes a display panel and a display driver integrated circuit fordriving the display panel. The display driver integrated circuit mountedon the electronic device may be supplied with display data from aprocessor and may drive the display panel based on the display data.

In conventional electronic devices, at least a partial area of a displayarea of a display may include a curved display area, such as a circularshape, an oval shape, or the like, in addition to a rectangular shape.Since elements (e.g., pixels) of the display are provided in a matrixform, content displayed through the curved display area may berelatively unnatural compared with an area adjacent to the curveddisplay area.

SUMMARY

Example aspects of the present disclosure address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and provide at least theadvantages described below. Accordingly, an example aspect of thepresent disclosure is to provide a curved display driving method capableof expressing a curved display area more naturally, a display driverintegrated circuit supporting the same, and an electronic deviceincluding the same.

In accordance with an example aspect of the present disclosure, anelectronic device is provided. The electronic device may include adisplay, a processor operatively connected to the display and configuredto generate display data to be output on the display, a display driverintegrated circuit configured to output, on the display, the displaydata received from the processor, wherein the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to apply a color transformation value of the sameor different magnitude as the display data based on a distance from aspecified point of the display to a location where the display data areto be displayed.

In accordance with another example aspect of the present disclosure, amethod for driving a display is provided. The method may includeobtaining a value of a location of a display area at which display dataare to be output, determining a distance between the location value anda specified point of the display, determining a color transformationvalue to be applied to the display data based on the determineddistance, applying the determined color transformation value to thedisplay data and outputting the display data, to which the colortransformation value is applied, on the display.

In accordance with another example aspect of the present disclosure, adisplay driver integrated circuit is provided. The display driverintegrated circuit may include a receiver interface comprising circuitryconfigured to receive display data from a processor, a memory configuredto store the display data, a mask processing unit comprising processingcircuitry configured to obtain information of a location of a displayarea at which the display data stored in the memory are to be output, todetermine a color transformation value to be applied to the display databased on a distance between a specified point and the location, and tooutput the display data to which the color transformation value isapplied, and a display timing controller configured to output thedisplay data on a display.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and attendant advantages of thepresent disclosure will be more apparent and readily appreciated fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic deviceincluding a curved display area according to an example embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a periphery of the curved display areaaccording to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A is a flowchart illustrating an example of a curved displaydriving method according to an example embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3B is a flowchart illustrating another example of the curveddisplay driving method according to an example embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating an example of a portion of aconfiguration of an example electronic device associated with driving adisplay, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating another example of a portion ofa configuration of the example electronic device according to an exampleembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating example driving of a display driverintegrated circuit according to an example embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of calculation of a centralpoint according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of an electronic deviceto which a display driving method is applied, according to an exampleembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of anelectronic device in a network environment according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of anelectronic device according to various example embodiments; and

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of aprogram module according to various example embodiments.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various example embodiments of the present disclosure may be describedwith reference to accompanying drawings. Accordingly, those of ordinaryskill in the art will recognize that modifications, equivalents, and/oralternatives of the various example embodiments described herein can bevariously made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. With regard to description of drawings, similarelements may be marked by similar reference numerals.

In the disclosure disclosed herein, the expressions “have”, “may have”,“include” and “comprise”, or “may include” and “may comprise” usedherein indicate existence of corresponding features (e.g., elements suchas numeric values, functions, operations, or components) but do notexclude presence of additional features.

In the disclosure disclosed herein, the expressions “A or B”, “at leastone of A or/and B”, or “one or more of A or/and B”, and the like usedherein may include any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. For example, the term “A or B”, “at least oneof A and B”, or “at least one of A or B” may refer to all of the case(1) where at least one A is included, the case (2) where at least one Bis included, or the case (3) where both of at least one A and at leastone B are included.

The terms, such as “first”, “second”, and the like used herein may referto various elements of various embodiments, but do not limit theelements. Furthermore, such terms may be used to distinguish one elementfrom another element. For example, “a first user device” and “a seconduser device” may indicate different user devices regardless of the orderor priority thereof. For example, “a first user device” and “a seconduser device” indicate different user devices.

It will be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) isreferred to as being “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to”or “connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), it may bedirectly coupled with/to or connected to the other element or anintervening element (e.g., a third element) may be present. On the otherhand, when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being“directly coupled with/to” or “directly connected to” another element(e.g., a second element), it should be understood that there are nointervening element (e.g., a third element).

According to the situation, the expression “configured to” used hereinmay be used interchangeably with, for example, the expression “suitablefor”, “having the capacity to”, “designed to”, “adapted to”, “made to”,or “capable of”. The term “configured to” does not refer only to“specifically designed to” in hardware. Instead, the expression “adevice configured to” may refer to a situation in which the device is“capable of” operating together with another device or other components.For example, a “processor configured to perform A, B, and C” may refer,for example, and without limitation, to a dedicated processor (e.g., anembedded processor) for performing a corresponding operation or ageneric-purpose processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or anapplication processor) which may perform corresponding operations byexecuting one or more software programs which are stored in a memorydevice.

Terms used in the present disclosure are used to describe specifiedembodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure. The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unlessotherwise specified. Unless otherwise defined herein, all the terms usedherein, which include technical or scientific terms, may have the samemeaning that is generally understood by a person skilled in the art. Itwill be further understood that terms, which are defined in a dictionaryand commonly used, should also be interpreted as is customary in therelevant related art and not in an idealized or overly formal detectunless expressly so defined herein in various embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In some cases, even if terms are terms which are defined inthe specification, they may not be interpreted to exclude embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

An electronic device according to various example embodiments of thepresent disclosure may include at least one of smartphones, tabletpersonal computers (PCs), mobile phones, video telephones, e-bookreaders, desktop PCs, laptop PCs, netbook computers, workstations,servers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players(PMPs), Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG-1 or MPEG-2) Audio Layer 3(MP3) players, mobile medical devices, cameras, wearable devices (e.g.,head-mounted-devices (HMDs), such as electronic glasses), an electronicapparel, electronic bracelets, electronic necklaces, electronicappcessories, electronic tattoos, smart watches, or the like but is notlimited thereto.

According to another example embodiment, the electronic devices may behome appliances. The home appliances may include at least one of, forexample, televisions (TVs), digital versatile disc (DVD) players,audios, refrigerators, air conditioners, cleaners, ovens, microwaveovens, washing machines, air cleaners, set-top boxes, home automationcontrol panels, security control panels, TV boxes (e.g., SamsungHomeSync™, Apple TV™, or Google TV™), game consoles (e.g., Xbox™ orPlayStation™), electronic dictionaries, electronic keys, camcorders,electronic picture frames, or the like, but are not limited thereto.

According to another example embodiment, the electronic device mayinclude at least one of medical devices (e.g., various portable medicalmeasurement devices (e.g., a blood glucose monitoring device, aheartbeat measuring device, a blood pressure measuring device, a bodytemperature measuring device, and the like)), a magnetic resonanceangiography (MRA), a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a computedtomography (CT), scanners, and ultrasonic devices), navigation devices,global positioning system (GPS) receivers, event data recorders (EDRs),flight data recorders (FDRs), vehicle infotainment devices, electronicequipment for vessels (e.g., navigation systems and gyrocompasses),avionics, security devices, head units for vehicles, industrial or homerobots, automatic teller's machines (ATMs), points of sales (POSs), orinternet of things (e.g., light bulbs, various sensors, electric or gasmeters, sprinkler devices, fire alarms, thermostats, street lamps,toasters, exercise equipment, hot water tanks, heaters, boilers, and thelike), or the like but is not limited thereto.

According to another example embodiment, the electronic devices mayinclude at least one of parts of furniture or buildings/structures,electronic boards, electronic signature receiving devices, projectors,or various measuring instruments (e.g., water meters, electricitymeters, gas meters, or wave meters, and the like), or the like, but arenot limited thereto. In the various embodiments, the electronic devicemay be one of the above-described various devices or a combinationthereof. An electronic device according to an embodiment may be aflexible device. Furthermore, an electronic device according to anembodiment may not be limited to the above-described electronic devicesand may include other electronic devices and new electronic devicesaccording to the development of technologies.

Hereinafter, an electronic device according to the various exampleembodiments may be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. The term “user” used herein may refer to a person who uses anelectronic device or may refer to a device (e.g., an artificialintelligence electronic device) that uses an electronic device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic deviceincluding a curved display area according to an example embodiment ofthe present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a peripheryof the curved display area according to an example embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic device 100 according to an embodimentof the present disclosure may include a display 160 and may outputdisplay data depending on operating a specified function. In addition,the electronic device 100 may further include a processor that performssignal processing associated with driving the display 160 and a displaydriver integrated circuit that drives the display 160. The displaydriver integrated circuit of the electronic device 100 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may perform signal processingassociated with outputting display data in a curved area 163, a blankarea 161, and a boundary area 162 of the display 160. According to anembodiment, the display driver integrated circuit may calculate(determine) a color transformation value in the boundary area 162 inreal time to allow a color display state in the boundary area 162 tobecome smoother and more natural while display data is being output.

The display 160 may include, for example, a curved display area.According to an embodiment, the display 160 may be manufactured to havealmost a circular shape. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 1, thedisplay 160 may be manufactured in a rectangular shape, and at leastpart of the display area may form a curve. In this regard, the display160 may include the blank area 161, the curved area 163, and theboundary area 162.

The curved area 163 may include an area in which there is displayed ascreen associated with operating a function of the electronic device100. The blank area 161 may include the remaining area of the entirearea of the display 160 other than the curved area 163 and the boundaryarea 162. In the case where the display 160 is disposed under, forexample, a housing of a circular shape, as illustrated in FIG. 1, thecurved area 163 may be exposed through an opening area of the housing,and the blank area 161 may be covered by the housing. Since the blankarea 161 is covered by the housing, the blank area 161 may have a screenstate corresponding to a specified state (e.g., a turn-off state or ablack screen) without displaying information.

According to an example embodiment, the curved area 163 may include anarea to which a specified first color transformation value (e.g., amaximum value of alpha blending) may be applied. In the case where themaximum value of the alpha blending is applied to the area, a color tobe displayed in the area may be displayed without transformation. Forexample, the blank area 161 may include an area to which a specifiedsecond color transformation value (e.g., a minimum value of alphablending) may be applied. As the minimum value of the alpha blending isapplied to the area, a screen (e.g., a black screen) of a specifiedcolor may be displayed in the blank area 161 regardless of a color ofdisplay data to be displayed. Alternatively, the maximum value of thealpha blending may be applied to the blank area 161 such that anoriginal image (e.g., a black screen) of display data is displayed.

Referring to FIG. 2, the boundary area 162 may be disposed on a boundarybetween the blank area 161 and the curved area 163. As pixels arearranged in a matrix form, as in state 201, a color may be displayed ina shape, such as stairs, in the boundary area 162 of a curved shape.

Referring to state 203, according to an example embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the boundary area 162 may be disposed between thecurved area 163 and the blank area 161 with a specific width. A colortransformation value (e.g., an alpha blending value) of the boundaryarea 162 may gradually vary toward the blank area 161 from the curvedarea 163. For example, a color transformation value of the boundary area162 close (or adjacent) to the curved area 163 may have a relativelysmall value (or a value that is determined such that an original color(color of original data) is displayed), and a color transformation valueof the boundary area 162 close (or adjacent) to the blank area 161 mayhave a relatively large value (or a value that is distorted such that aspecified color is displayed). With the above description, since a colorvariation of the boundary area 162 is differently made (e.g., graduallylarger) toward the blank area 161 from the curved area 163, the boundaryarea 162 may be perceived in a smoother and more natural curve shape.

FIG. 3A is a flowchart illustrating an example of a curved displaydriving method according to an example embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3A, with regard to the curved display driving methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in operation 301,the display driver integrated circuit of the electronic device 100 mayreceive display data. For example, the display driver integrated circuitmay receive display data to be output on the display 160 from aprocessor (e.g., an application processor). If receiving the displaydata, the display driver integrated circuit may store the receiveddisplay data in a memory, may perform image processing on the displaydata stored in the memory, and may supply the processed display data tothe display 160.

In operation 303, the display driver integrated circuit may verify alocation of the display data. For example, the display driver integratedcircuit may verify a location of the display 160, at which the displaydata are output. A value of the location of the display data may bedetermined in advance by an order of display data to be supplied to asource driver of the display 160. In operation 305, the display driverintegrated circuit may calculate (determine) a color transformationvalue corresponding to the location of the display data based on thelocation of the display data and may apply the calculated (determined)color transformation value to the display data. The display driverintegrated circuit may verify a location value of display data displayedon the display 160 with respect to all received display data and maycalculate and apply a specified color transformation value for eachverified location value. For example, in the case where a location ofthe display 160, at which display data are to be displayed, is includedin the curved area 163, the display driver integrated circuit may applythe specified first color transformation value (e.g., an alpha blendingvalue that does not cause color distortion, or reduces color distortion)to the display data and may transfer the display data, to which thespecified first color transformation value is applied, to the display160 (e.g., a source driver). In the case where a location of the display160, at which display data are to be displayed, is included in the blankarea 161, the display driver integrated circuit may calculate and applythe specified second color transformation value (e.g., an alpha blendingvalue that is determined such that a black screen is displayed) to thedisplay data.

With the above-described operations, the display driver integratedcircuit of the electronic device 100 may express a display state in theboundary area 162 more smoothly and more naturally upon displaying ascreen including the curved area 163.

FIG. 3B is a flowchart illustrating another example of a curved displaydriving method according to an example embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3B, with regard to the curved display driving methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the displaydriver integrated circuit of the electronic device 100 receives displaydata as in operation 301, the display driver integrated circuit mayverify a location of the display 160, at which display data are to beoutput, in operation 311. For example, the display driver integratedcircuit may determine whether the verified location value is within aspecified or predetermined range. A value of the location of the display160, at which the display data are to be displayed, may be determined byan order of the display data.

With regard to verifying the location of the display data, in operation311, the display driver integrated circuit of the electronic device 100may verify whether the verified location value is within a specifiedrange. In this regard, the display driver integrated circuit may storeand manage information about the specified range. In the display driverintegrated circuit, the information about the specified range may bechanged based on a user input or may be changed based on the intentionof a designer associated with manufacturing the electronic device 100.For example, the size of the curved area 163, the size of the blank area161, and the size of the boundary area 162 may be changed. In this case,the information about the specified range may be updated.

If the verified location value is within the specified range, inoperation 313, the display driver integrated circuit of the electronicdevice 100 may calculate (determine) a color transformation valuecorresponding to the location of the display data and may apply thecalculated (determined) color transformation value to the display data.In this operation, if the verified location value of the display data iswithin the specified range, the display driver integrated circuit mayapply a color transformation value that gradually increases based on adistance from a specified point (e.g., a central point) of the curvedarea 163. In this regard, the display driver integrated circuit of theelectronic device 100 may calculate (determine) a distance from thespecific point (e.g., a central point) of the display 160 to a pointcorresponding to coordinates of the display data for each display data.The display driver integrated circuit may compare a value of thecalculated (determined) distance and the specified range and maydifferently determine a color transformation value to be applied,depending on whether the distance value corresponds to any point of thespecified range.

If the verified location value of the display data is out of thespecified range, in operation 315, the display driver integrated circuitof the electronic device 100 may apply a specified color transformationvalue to the display data. For example, the specified range may includea value that is more than a first distance and less than a seconddistance in a direction from the central point of the display to aperiphery thereof. In the case where a distance from the central pointof the display 160 to coordinates at which the display data are to bedisplayed is not more than the first distance, the display driverintegrated circuit may apply the first color transformation value (e.g.,a value that does not cause (or reduce) distortion of display data,e.g., a maximum alpha blending value) to the display data. In the casewhere the distance from the central point of the display 160 to thecoordinates at which the display data are to be displayed is not lessthan the second distance, the display driver integrated circuit mayapply the second color transformation value (e.g., a value that isdetermined such that a specified color is displayed: a minimum alphablending value) to the display data. Alternatively, the display driverintegrated circuit may apply the maximum alpha blending value to an areaexceeding the second distance such that original display data (e.g.,black data) are output without distortion.

With the above description, the display driver integrated circuit of theelectronic device 100 may gradually vary a color from the curved area163 to the blank area 161, thereby making it possible to experiencecolor variation more smoothly and more naturally.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating an example of a portion of aconfiguration of the electronic device which is associated with drivinga display, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a configuration associated with driving a displayof the present disclosure may include a processor (e.g., includingprocessing circuitry) 300 (e.g., an application processor, acommunication processor, a sensor hub, or the like), a display driverintegrated circuit (DDI) 400 a, and the display 160.

The processor 300 may include various processing circuitry and generatedisplay data according to various embodiments and may provide thegenerated display data to the display driver integrated circuit 400 a.For example, the processor 300 may encode or compress display data in aspecified manner and may provide the encoded or compressed display datato the display driver integrated circuit 400 a. The processor 300 mayenter a sleep state (a state where a display is turned off), forexample, in response to a user manipulation or depending on schedulingset in advance. When the processor 300 is in the sleep state, thedisplay driver integrated circuit 400 a may output at least part ofdisplay data stored in a memory to the display 160 depending on aspecified operation manner.

The above-described processor 300 may include various processingcircuitry, such as, for example, and without limitation, a centralprocessing unit (CPU)/graphics processing unit (GPU) 310, a displaycontroller 320, a compression encoder 330, and an internal transmitinterface 340 (e.g., MIPI Tx).

The CPU/GPU 310 may process data to be output on the display 160 inresponse to scheduled information or a user input. The CPU/GPU 310 maytransfer the processed data to the display controller 320.

The display controller 320 may generate display data to be transferredto the display driver integrated circuit 400 a based on data that theCPU/GPU 310 transfers.

The compression encoder 330 may encode display data generated in thedisplay controller 320 in a specified manner (e.g., a display streamcompression (DSC) manner defined in VESA). Accordingly, the display datagenerated in the display controller 320 may be compressed such that theamount of display data decreases. For example, the magnitude of displaydata generated in the display controller 320 may decrease to 1/n by theencoding of the compression encoder 330. According to variousembodiments, a configuration or an operation of the compression encoder330 may be omitted. In other words, display data may be transferred tothe display driver integrated circuit 400 a without a compressionprocess.

The internal transmit interface 340 may transfer the display dataencoded by the compression encoder 330 to the display driver integratedcircuit 400 a. The internal transmit interface 340 may include, forexample, a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI).

The display driver integrated circuit 400 a may calculate (determine) acolor transformation value of display data and may output the displaydata on a display panel 200 after applying the color transformationvalue to the display data. For example, if receiving display data fromthe processor 300, the display driver integrated circuit 400 a maycalculate (determine) a color transformation value to be applied to thedisplay data based on a value of a location at which the display dataare to be output and may output the display data on the display 160after applying the calculated (determined) color transformation value tothe display data.

The above-described display driver integrated circuit 400 a may includevarious circuitry including, for example, and without limitation, aninternal receive interface 410 (or receiver interface)(e.g., MIPI Rx),an interface controller 420, a command controller 430, a memorycontroller 440, a memory 450 (e.g., a graphics RAM (GRAM)), acompression decoder 460, an up-scaler 470, an image pre-processing unit480, a mask processing unit 497, and a display timing controller 490.Although not illustrated in FIG. 4A, according to various embodiments,the display driver integrated circuit 400 a may further include anoscillator, a module to adjust the number of frames (or a framefrequency), a module to apply pixel power, or the like.

The internal receive interface 410 may communicate with the processor300 to receive control information and display data from the processor300. The internal receive interface 410 may include, for example, andwithout limitation, an MIPI receiver circuit. If the internal receiveinterface 410 receives control information and display data through theMIPI transmit circuit of the processor 300, the internal receiveinterface 410 may transfer the control information and the display datato the interface controller 420.

The interface controller 420 may receive display data and/or controlinformation from the processor 300. The interface controller 420 maytransfer the received display data to the memory controller 440. Theinterface controller 420 may transfer the received control informationto the command controller 430.

The memory controller 440 may write the display data received from theinterface controller 420 in the memory 450. For example, the memorycontroller 440 may write display data from the processor 300 in thememory 450 depending on a frame rate of the display data.

The memory 450 may include a graphics RAM (GRAM). The memory 450 maystore display data that the memory controller 440 transfers. The storeddisplay data may include data that are compressed by the processor 300or are not compressed. The memory 450 may include a memory spacecorresponding to a resolution and/or the number of color gradations ofthe display panel 200. The memory 450 may include at least one of aframe buffer or a line buffer. The number of times that the memory 450is updated or an update speed of the memory 450 may vary with a type ofan image to be output on the display panel 200. For example, when avideo is played, the memory 450 may store display data corresponding toa frame of the video at a specified speed. In the case of a still image,the memory 450 may store a previous still image until an image isupdated. The display data stored in the memory 450 may include acoordinate value of each display area of the display 160 or an order ofdisplay data may correspond to coordinates to be displayed on thedisplay 160.

The command controller 430 may control the display timing controller 490such that display data stored in the memory 450 are output to aspecified area of the display panel 200 after the corresponding colortransformation value is applied to the display data. The commandcontroller 430 may include various circuitry and be referred to as“control logic”.

In the case where at least part of display data read from the memory 450is encoded, the compression decoder 460 may decode the at least part ofthe read display data in a specified manner and may transfer the decodeddata to the display timing controller 490. For example, if the magnitudeof display data is compressed to 1/n by the compression encoder 330 ofthe processor 300, the compression decoder 460 may decompress the atleast partial display data to display data before compression.

The up-scaler 470 and/or the image pre-processing unit 480 may bedisposed between the compression decoder 460 and the display timingcontroller 490. According to various embodiments, in the case where atleast partial display data selected by the command controller 430 is notencoded, a configuration of the compression decoder 460 may not beperformed or may be bypassed.

The up-scaler 470 may include various circuitry to enlarge thedecompressed image at a specified magnification. According to anembodiment, the up-scaler 470 may enlarge display data to be output onthe display panel 200 in the case where there is a need to enlarge thedisplay data depending on the magnitude of the display data or usersettings. The up-scaler 470 may transfer the display data enlarged bythe up-scaler 470 to the display timing controller 490. In the casewhere there is no need to enlarge at least part of the display data, aconfiguration of the up-scaler 470 may not be performed or may bebypassed.

The image pre-processing unit 480 may improve the image quality ofdisplay data. The image pre-processing unit 480 may include, forexample, and without limitation, a pixel data processing circuit, apre-processing circuit, a gating circuit, or the like.

The mask processing unit 497 may include various circuitry to processthe blank area 161 and the boundary area 162 of the display 160. Forexample, the mask processing unit 497 may calculate a specified colortransformation value (e.g., a value that is determined such that a blackscreen is displayed) to be applied to display data to be output to theblank area 161 and may apply the calculated color transformation valueto the blank area 161. Alternatively, the mask processing unit 497 mayprovide the calculated color transformation value to the display timingcontroller 490 such that the display timing controller 490 applies thecolor transformation value to display data.

According to various embodiments, the mask processing unit 497 may beconfigured to output specified display data (e.g., a data value that isdetermined such that a black screen is output) in the blank area 161. Inthis case, the mask processing unit 497 may calculate a colortransformation value (e.g., a maximum alpha blending value) foroutputting an original color screen of display data to be output in theblank area 161 and may apply the calculated color transformation valueto the display data. In the case where the maximum alpha blending valueis applied to display data, an original color may be reproduced withouttransformation or distortion of a color that the display data indicates.

The mask processing unit 497 may calculate and apply a colortransformation value associated with the boundary area 162. In thisregard, the mask processing unit 497 may obtain information about apoint corresponding to a central point of the boundary area 162.Returning to FIG. 2, the mask processing unit 497 may obtain informationabout the central point of the boundary area 162 of the display 160 andmay calculate a distance from the central point to a location wheredisplay data are displayed. The mask processing unit 497 may calculate aspecified color transformation value depending on the calculateddistance. For example, the mask processing unit 497 may calculate adistance from the central point with respect to display data based onthe following equation 1.(x−a)² +y−b ² =D  [Equation 1]

Here, “x” and “y” are center coordinate values of a circle, and “a” and“b” may include values of two-dimensional coordinates at which displaydata are to be output. “D” may include a value indicating a distancefrom the central point of the display 160 to display data. The maskprocessing unit 497 may allocate a specified color transformation valuedepending on a value of “D”. As such, the mask processing unit 497 maycalculate a color transformation value of display data associated witheach pixel of the display 160. With regard to allocating the colortransformation value, the mask processing unit 497 may include anarithmetic device that is able to process specified arithmeticexpression. For example, the mask processing unit 497 may include anoperator that is configured to calculate a color transformation valuesuch that the color transformation value becomes smaller as a distancefrom the central point decreases (or “D” decreases) (or a value that isdetermined such that a color approximate to an original display datacolor is displayed, e.g., a maximum alpha blending value) and a colortransformation value becomes greater as a distance from the centralpoint increases (or “D” increases) (or a value that is determined suchthat a specified color corresponding to distortion of an original colorof display data is displayed, e.g., a minimum alpha blending value). Thearithmetic device of the mask processing unit 497 may be configured toprocess an integer operation. In this regard, the mask processing unit497 may calculate a color transformation value with respect to thedistance “D” from the central point by truncating values after decimalpoint and using only integer values.

According to various example embodiments, the mask processing unit 497may calculate and apply a color transformation value based on thefollowing equation 2.D1<x−a ^(a) +y−b ² <D2  [Equation 2]

Here, “x” and “y” are center coordinate values of a circle, and “a” and“b” may include values of two-dimensional coordinates at which displaydata are to be output. D1 may refer, for example, to a specified firstdistance value from the central point, and D2 may refer, for example, toa specified second distance value from the central point. The D2 may begreater than the D1 in value. The mask processing unit 497 may calculatea color transformation value corresponding to a distance, with respectto display data placed between a specified first distance point and aspecified second distance point with respect to the central point basedon the equation 2. Here, the first distance point may be spaced apartfrom the central point by the first distance, and the second distancepoint may be spaced apart from the central point by the second distance.For example, the mask processing unit 497 may apply a relatively smallcolor transformation value (e.g., a value determined such that colors ofdisplay data close (or adjacent) to the curved area 163 are slightlydistorted) to display data approximate to the first distance point. Themask processing unit 497 may apply a relatively great colortransformation value (e.g., a value determined such that colors ofdisplay data close to the blank area 161 are relatively greatlydistorted) to display data approximate to the second distance point. Themask processing unit 497 may apply a specified color transformationvalue (e.g., a value determined such that an original color of displaydata is expressed) to display data placed within the first distance orto display data exceeding the second distance. An embodiment is aboveexemplified as the mask processing unit 497 is disposed between theimage pre-processing unit 480 and the display timing controller 490.However, embodiments of the present disclosure may not be limitedthereto. For example, the mask processing unit 497 may be disposedbetween two elements selected from the compression decoder 460, theup-scaler 470, and the image pre-processing unit 480.

The display timing controller 490 may control timing of elementsincluded in the display driver integrated circuit 400 a. For example,the display timing controller 490 may adjust timing when display datareceived from the processor 300 are stored in the memory 450 and timingwhen display data stored in the memory 450 are read, so as not to beoverlapped. The display timing controller 490 may control timing whendisplay data stored in the memory 450 are transferred to the compressiondecoder 460 and the up-scaler 470 after being read at a specified framerate under control of the command controller 430.

The display timing controller 490 may transfer display data receivedfrom the image pre-processing unit 480 to a source driver 210 undercontrol of the command controller 430 and may control an output of agate signal of a gate driver 220. According to an embodiment, thedisplay timing controller 490 may be implemented in the commandcontroller 430. The display timing controller 490 may convert displaydata received from the memory 450 through the compression decoder 460,the up-scaler 470, and/or the image pre-processing unit 480 into animage signal and may supply the image signal to the source driver 210and the gate driver 220 of the display panel 200. In the case where themask processing unit 497 is configured to calculate a colortransformation value, the display timing controller 490 may apply thecolor transformation value provided from the mask processing unit 497 todisplay data. For example, the display timing controller 490 may outputdisplay data after applying a color transformation value, which iscalculated depending on a distance from the central point to a specificpixel, to the display data.

The display 160 may include the source driver 210, the gate driver 220,and the display panel 200. In addition, the display 160 may furtherinclude a touch panel, a touch IC, a pressure sensor, a pressure sensorIC, a digitizer, and the like, which are associated with a user input.

The display panel 200 may display various information (e.g., multimediadata, text data, or the like). The display panel 200 may include, forexample, and without limitation, a liquid-crystal display (LCD) panel,an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AM-OLED) panel, or thelike. For example, the display panel 200 may be implemented to beflexible, transparent, or wearable. Also, the display panel 200 may beincluded in, for example, a cover of a case electrically coupled to theelectronic device 100.

The display panel 200 may be supplied with an image signal correspondingto display data from the display driver integrated circuit 400 a todisplay a screen corresponding to the display data. In the display panel200, a plurality of data lines and a plurality of gate lines may crosseach other, and a plurality of pixels may be disposed at intersectionsof the data lines and the gate lines. In the case where the displaypanel 200 corresponds to an OLED panel, each of the plurality of pixelsmay include at least one or more switching elements (e.g., FET) and oneOLED. Each pixel may produce light based on an image signal receivedfrom the display driver integrated circuit 400 at specified timing. Thedisplay panel 200 may have, for example, a resolution of wide quad highdefinition (WQHD) (2560×1440).

The source driver 210 and the gate driver 220 may generate signals to besupplied to a scan line and a data line (not illustrated) of the displaypanel 200, based on a source control signal and a gate control signalreceived from the display timing controller 490, respectively.

FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating another example of a portion ofa configuration of the electronic device according to an exampleembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4B, an electronic device may include the processor300, the display driver integrated circuit 400 b, and the display 160.The processor 300 and the display 160 of the electronic device may beconfigured to be substantially the same as or similar to the processor300 and the display 160 described with reference to FIG. 4A.

The display driver integrated circuit 400 b may include the internalreceive interface 410 (or internal receiver interface), the interfacecontroller 420, the command controller 430, the memory controller 440,the memory 450, the compression decoder 460, the up-scaler 470, theimage pre-processing unit 480, the mask processing unit 497, anauxiliary memory 496, and the display timing controller 490.

The auxiliary memory 496 may store a color transformation value (e.g.,an alpha blending value or a masking image) to be applied to a boundaryarea of a curved shape. The masking image may include an image that iscomposed of color transformation values to be applied to at least onearea of, for example, a curved area, a boundary area, and a blank area.The auxiliary memory 496 may store various color transformation valuesdepending on a shape of the curved area 163 of the display 160. Forexample, as described with reference to FIG. 2, in the case where thedisplay 160 includes the boundary area 162 of a circular shape, theauxiliary memory 496 may respectively store a color transformation valueassociated with the boundary area 162 and a color transformation valueassociated with the curved area 163 and the blank area 161.

The mask processing unit 497 may obtain a color transformation valuefrom the auxiliary memory 496. The mask processing unit 497 may applythe color transformation value to display data that the imagepre-processing unit 480 transfers and may transfer the display data, towhich the color transformation value is applied, to the display timingcontroller 490. In the case where the mask processing unit 497 isdisposed in front of the image pre-processing unit 480, the maskprocessing unit 497 may read a color transformation value from theauxiliary memory 496 and may apply the read color transformation valueto scaled display data that the up-scaler 470 transfers.

An example embodiment is above exemplified as the mask processing unit497 is independent of the display timing controller 490. However,embodiments of the present disclosure may not be limited thereto. Forexample, the mask processing unit 497 may be included in the displaytiming controller 490. Alternatively, the display timing controller 490may replace a function of the mask processing unit 497. In the casewhere the display timing controller 490 replaces a function of the maskprocessing unit 497, the mask processing unit 497 may be removed.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit 400 b may store color transformation values to be applied to acurved area in the memory 450. In this case, the auxiliary memory 496may be removed from the display driver integrated circuit 400 b, and themask processing unit 497 may be implemented to access the memory 450(e.g., circuit wirings are added).

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating example driving of a display driverintegrated circuit according to an example embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, the display driver integrated circuit 400 a or 400b (below, the reference numeral 400 a is referenced to describe adisplay driver integrated circuit, but it will be understood that thedisclosure is not limited thereto) may maintain a turn-on state of adata enable (DE) signal during one period of a horizontal sync (HS)signal. The DE signal may maintain the turn-on state for each period ofthe HS signal.

Display data “Data” may be supplied during each period of the HS signalwhile the DE signal maintains the turn-on state. The HS signal may havea turn-on period corresponding to the number of gate lines during avertical sync (VS) signal. In this case, the DE signal may have aturn-on state corresponding to the number of gate lines. When D1, D2,D3, . . . , Dn−1, and Dn are supplied as the display data “Data” asillustrated in FIG. 5, the mask processing unit 497 may calculate colortransformation values “Mask” d1, d2, d3, . . . , dn−1, and dn,associated with the display data D1, D2, D3, . . . , Dn−1, and Dn,respectively. The display timing controller 490 may apply the colortransformation values d1, d2, d3, . . . , dn−1, and dn to the displaydata D1, D2, D3, . . . , Dn−1, and Dn and may output the display data,to which the color transformation values d1, d2, d3, . . . , dn−1, anddn are applied, on the display 160. The calculating and applying of thecolor transformation values d1, d2, d3, . . . , dn−1, and an may beperformed in the mask processing unit 497, and the display timingcontroller 490 may allow the source driver 210 and the gate driver 220to be driven in synchronization with data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of calculation of a centralpoint according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, as illustrated in state 601, the display driverintegrated circuit 400 a of the electronic device 100 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may select “N” pixels (e.g., Nbeing 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.; below, “N” is assumed as being “4” for ease ofexplanation, but it will be understood that the disclosure is notlimited thereto) specified at a central point and may calculate a colortransformation value based on the selected pixels. For example, in thecase where the display 160 is covered by a housing as illustrated inFIG. 6 or is displayed in a circular (or oval) shape, the display driverintegrated circuit 400 a may be configured such that four pixels placedat the center of the display 160 are used as a central point. Thedisplay driver integrated circuit 400 a may calculate a distance in eachquadrant based on the four pixels. For example, the display driverintegrated circuit 400 a may select a first central point 165 a withregard to measuring a distance of display data in the first quadrant“A”. As in the above description, the display driver integrated circuit400 a may select a second central point 165 b with regard to measuring adistance of display data in the second quadrant “B”, may select a thirdcentral point 165 c with regard to measuring a distance of display datain the third quadrant “C”, and may select a fourth central point 165 dwith regard to measuring a distance of display data in the fourthquadrant “D”.

The display driver integrated circuit 400 a may calculate a colortransformation value based on a distance between each of the centralpoints 165 a, 165 b, 165 c, and 165 d and display data in thecorresponding quadrant. If a color transformation value is calculated,the display driver integrated circuit 400 a may configure a screen byapplying a color transformation value for each pixel to display data. Inthis operation, as described above, the display driver integratedcircuit 400 a may apply a specified distance range to the boundary area162 and may apply a color transformation value of a different magnitudeto display data in proportion to a distance (or distance range).

According to various embodiments, as illustrated in state 603, thedisplay driver integrated circuit 400 a may calculate a distance betweena central point 165 e and each pixel and may calculate a colortransformation value based on the calculated distance. In this case, thedisplay driver integrated circuit 400 a may calculate a distance betweenthe central point 165 e and each pixel disposed at a peripheral end of ascreen and belonging to an odd-numbered distance (a distance from thecentral point 165 e to a pixel at a periphery of a display is theodd-numbered distance). In a distance calculation process, the displaydriver integrated circuit 400 a may perform an integer operation (or anoperation using the remaining values while values after decimal pointare truncated). In calculating distances based on the four centralpoints 165 a, 165 b, 165 c, and 165 d, the display driver integratedcircuit 400 a may calculate a distance between each central point andeach pixel belonging to an even-numbered distance (a distance from eachof the central points 165 a, 165 b, 165 c, and 165 d to each peripheralpixel of the corresponding quadrant of a display is the even-numbereddistance).

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of an electronic deviceto which a display driving method according to an example embodiment ofthe present disclosure is applied.

Referring to FIG. 7, an electronic device 700 according to an embodimentof the present disclosure may include a display 760 and a housing 701.An upper side of the housing 701 may be opened such that at least apartial area of the display 760 is exposed to the outside. The display760 may be disposed in the opened portion of the housing 701. A mainprinted circuit board, a battery, and the like may be seated inside thehousing 701, and a processor, a memory, and the like, which areassociated with driving the display 760, may be mounted on the mainprinted circuit board.

The display 760 may include, for example, curved areas 760 a, 760 b, 760c, and 760 d in one or more corner areas and a flat area 760 e. Forexample, the flat area 760 e may be disposed on the center of thedisplay 760, and the curved areas 760 a, 760 b, 760 c, and 760 d may bedisposed such that a display area is curved in a peripheral direction ofat least one of left and right sides of the flat area 760 e while beingcontinuous with the flat area 760 e. Each of the curved areas 760 a, 760b, 760 c, and 760 d may include an above-described boundary area 762.The boundary area 762 may have a specified curvature “R”. A specifiedcolor transformation value may be applied to at least one boundary areaof the boundary areas of the curved areas 760 a, 760 b, 760 c, and 760d. According to an embodiment, a color transformation value thatincreases as an outward distance from the center of a display areaincreases may be applied to the boundary area of the first curved area760 a. A color transformation value (e.g., an alpha blending value)associated with the boundary area of the first curved area 760 a may bestored in the auxiliary memory 496 described above with reference toFIG. 4B, for example. In this case, upon processing display data of thefirst curved area 760 a, the display driver integrated circuit 400 a mayverify a color transformation value stored in the auxiliary memory 496and may process color transformation of display data to be displayed ina boundary area with respect to the first curved area 760 a. The displaydriver integrated circuit 400 a may store color transformation valuesassociated with the boundary areas of the curved areas 760 a, 760 b, 760c, and 760 d in the auxiliary memory 496.

The auxiliary memory 496 may store only color transformation values,which correspond to some curved areas, from among the colortransformation values associated with the boundary areas of the curvedareas 760 a, 760 b, 760 c, and 760 d. According to an embodiment, thedisplay driver integrated circuit 400 a may apply a color transformationvalue corresponding to the boundary area of the first curved area 760 ato the boundary areas of the second curved area 760 b, the thirdboundary area 760 c, and the fourth boundary area 760 d. In the casewhere color transformation values associated with two color boundaryareas are used, the display driver integrated circuit 400 a may change acolor transformation value stored in the auxiliary memory 496 dependingon bilateral symmetry and may apply the changed color transformationvalue to display data associated with the boundary area of each curvedarea. In this regard, the display driver integrated circuit 400 a maystore only a color transformation value associated with the boundaryarea of the curved area 760 a in the auxiliary memory 496. A colortransformation value to be stored to the auxiliary memory 496 mayinclude, for example, color transformation values (e.g., alpha blendingvalues) to be applied depending on a distance from a central point(e.g., 761) of each curved area to each pixel disposed in each curvedarea.

As described above, with regard to a display having a curved area asillustrated in FIG. 7, the display driver integrated circuit 400 a maydisplay a screen by defining the center 761 as a central point ofspecified coordinates (e.g., a rectangular (Cartesian) coordinatesystem) as in a circular display and drawing a curve depending on an “R”value (curvature value). The above-described center 761 may beidentically applied to the curved areas 760 a, 760 b, 760 c, and 760 d.

An embodiment is exemplified in FIGS. 2 and 6 as a boundary area isprocessed on the basis of a circular display area. However, embodimentsof the present disclosure may not be limited thereto. For example, andwithout limitation, the circular shape may include an oval shape havingeccentricity of a specified magnitude.

According to various example embodiments, the electronic device mayinclude a display, a processor operatively connected to the display andconfigured to generate display data to be output on the display, adisplay driver integrated circuit configured to output, on the display,the display data received from the processor, wherein the display driverintegrated circuit is configured to apply a color transformation valuehaving a same or different magnitude to display data based on a distancefrom a specified point of the display to a location where the displaydata are to be displayed.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to apply color transformation values of differentmagnitudes to pieces of display data to be displayed on a display areafrom a first distance point spaced apart from the specified point to asecond distance point.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to apply, to pieces of display data to bedisplayed on a display area, which is closer to the first distance pointof the display area between the first distance point to the seconddistance point, color transformation values that are determined to allowcolors of the pieces of display data to be similar to original colors ofthe pieces of display data.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to apply, to pieces of display data to bedisplayed on a display area, which is closer to the second distancepoint of the display area between the first distance point to the seconddistance point, color transformation values determined to allow thepieces of display data are displayed with a specified color.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to apply color transformation values, havingmagnitudes that gradually increase, to the pieces of display data to bedisplayed on the display area from the first distance point to thesecond distance point.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to display a screen in which the display areaincludes a blank area configured such that specified display data aredisplayed, a curved area configured such that display data based onexecution of an application are displayed, and a boundary area includinga curve between the blank area and the curved area.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to output a screen including a curved area havinga circular shape in which display data based on execution of anapplication are displayed, a blank area surrounding the curved area andin which a black screen is displayed, and a boundary area between theblank area and the curved area.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to apply, to display data, a color transformationvalue that gradually increases in the boundary area from the curved areatoward the blank area.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to apply the same first color transformation valueto pieces of display data to be displayed on a display area within afirst distance from the specified point.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to apply a value to the pieces of display data, isthe value being determined such that original colors of the pieces ofdisplay data to be displayed on the display area within the firstdistance from the specified point are displayed.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to apply the same second color transformationvalue to pieces of display data to be displayed on a display areaoutside of a specified second distance from the specified point, whereinthe second distance is greater than the first distance.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to apply a value to the pieces of display data, isthe value being determined such that the pieces of display data to bedisplayed on the display area outside of the second distance from thespecified point are displayed with a specified color, wherein the seconddistance is greater than the first distance.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to apply a value to the pieces of display data,the value being determined such that the pieces of display data to bedisplayed on the display area outside of the second distance from thespecified point are displayed with a black screen, wherein the seconddistance is greater than the first distance.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to determine the first color transformation valueand the second color transformation value to display pieces of displaydata to be displayed in a specified display area with the same color.

According to various example embodiments, the electronic device mayfurther include an auxiliary memory configured to store the colortransformation value.

According to various example embodiments, a method may include obtaininga value of a location of a display area, at which display data are to beoutput, determining a distance between the location value and aspecified point of the display, determining a color transformation valueto be applied to the display data based on the determined distance,applying the determined color transformation value to the display dataand outputting the display data, to which the color transformation valueis applied, on the display.

According to various example embodiments, the applying may include atleast one of: applying the same first color transformation value todisplay data to be output on a display area between the specified pointand a first point, applying the same second color transformation valueto display data to be output on a display area outside of a second pointthat is more distant from the specified point than the first point andapplying a color transformation value, a magnitude of which varies basedon a distance from the specified point, to display data to be output ona display area between the first point and the second point.

According to various example embodiments, the outputting may includeoutputting a screen including a curved area of a circular shape, whichis centered at the specified point, a blank area surrounding the curvedarea, and a boundary area between the curved area and the blank area.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit may include a receiver interface comprising circuitry configuredto receive display data from a processor, a memory configured to storethe display data, a mask processing unit comprising circuitry configuredto obtain information about a location of a display area, at which thedisplay data stored in the memory are to be output, to determine a colortransformation value to be applied to the display data based on adistance between a specified point and the location, and to output thedisplay data, to which the color transformation value is applied and adisplay timing controller configured to output the display data on adisplay.

According to various example embodiments, the display driver integratedcircuit may further include an auxiliary memory configured to store thecolor transformation value.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of anelectronic device in a network environment according to an exampleembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, in various embodiments, an electronic device 801and a first external electronic device 802, a second external electronicdevice 804, or a server 806 may connect with each other through anetwork 862 or local-area communication 864. The electronic device 801may include a bus 810, a processor (e.g., including processingcircuitry) 820, a memory 830, an input/output interface (e.g., includinginput/output circuitry) 850, a display 860, and a communicationinterface (e.g., including communication circuitry) 870. In variousembodiments, at least one of the components may be omitted from theelectronic device 801, or other components may be additionally includedin the electronic device 801.

The bus 810 may be, for example, a circuit which connects the components820 to 870 with each other and transmits a communication signal (e.g., acontrol message and/or data) between the components.

The processor 820 may include various processing circuitry, such as, forexample, and without limitation, one or more of a dedicated processor, acentral processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), or acommunication processor (CP). For example, the processor 820 may performcalculation or data processing about control and/or communication of atleast another of the components of the electronic device 801.

The memory 830 may include a volatile and/or non-volatile memory. Thememory 830 may store, for example, a command or data associated with atleast another of the components of the electronic device 801. Accordingto an embodiment, the memory 830 may store software and/or a program840. The program 840 may include, for example, a kernel 841, amiddleware 843, an application programming interface (API) 845, and/oran least one application program 847 (or “at least one application”),and the like. At least part of the kernel 841, the middleware 843, orthe API 845 may be referred to as an operating system (OS).

The kernel 841 may control or manage, for example, system resources(e.g., the bus 810, the processor 820, or the memory 830, and the like)used to execute an operation or function implemented in the otherprograms (e.g., the middleware 843, the API 845, or the applicationprogram 847). Also, as the middleware 843, the API 845, or theapplication program 847 accesses a separate component of the electronicdevice 801, the kernel 841 may provide an interface which may control ormanage system resources.

The middleware 843 may play a role as, for example, a go-between suchthat the API 845 or the application program 847 communicates with thekernel 841 to communicate data.

Also, the middleware 843 may process one or more work requests, receivedfrom the application program 847, in order of priority. For example, themiddleware 843 may assign priority which may use system resources (thebus 810, the processor 820, or the memory 830, and the like) of theelectronic device 801 to at least one of the at least one applicationprogram 847. For example, the middleware 843 may perform scheduling orload balancing for the one or more work requests by processing the oneor more work requests in order of the priority assigned to the at leastone of the at least one application program 847.

The API 845 may be, for example, an interface in which the applicationprogram 847 controls a function provided from the kernel 841 or themiddleware 843. For example, the API 845 may include at least oneinterface or function (e.g., a command) for file control, windowcontrol, image processing, or text control, and the like.

The input/output interface 850 may include various input/outputcircuitry and play a role as, for example, an interface which maytransmit a command or data input from a user or another external deviceto another component (or other components) of the electronic device 801.Also, input and output interface 850 may output an instruction or datareceived from another component (or other components) of the electronicdevice 801 to the user or the other external device.

The display 860 may include, for example, a liquid crystal display(LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic LED (OLED)display, a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) display, or anelectronic paper display, or the like, but is not limited thereto. Thedisplay 860 may display, for example, a variety of content (e.g., text,images, videos, icons, or symbols, and the like) to the user. Thedisplay 860 may include a touch screen, and may receive, for example,touch, gesture, proximity, or a hovering input using an electronic penor part of a body of the user.

The communication interface 870 may include various communicationcircuitry and establish communication between, for example, theelectronic device 801 and an external device (e.g., a first externalelectronic device 802, a second external electronic device 804, or aserver 806). For example, the communication interface 870 may connect toa network 862 through wireless communication or wired communication andmay communicate with the external device (e.g., the second externalelectronic device 804 or the server 806). Additionally, thecommunication interface 870 may establish a short-range wireless localconnection 864 with an external electronic device, such as, for example,and without limitation, a first electronic device 802.

The wireless communication may use, for example, at least one of longterm evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-A), code division multipleaccess (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), universal mobiletelecommunications system (UMTS), wireless broadband (WiBro), or globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), and the like as a cellularcommunication protocol. Also, the wireless communication may include,for example, local-area communication 864. The local-area communication864 may include, for example, at least one of wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi)communication, Bluetooth (BT) communication, near field communication(NFC), or global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication, andthe like.

An MST module may generate a pulse based on transmission data using anelectromagnetic signal and may generate a magnetic field signal based onthe pulse. The electronic device 801 may output the magnetic fieldsignal to a point of sales (POS) system. The POS system may restore thedata by detecting the magnetic field signal using an MST reader andconverting the detected magnetic field signal into an electric signal.

The GNSS may include, for example, at least one of a global positioningsystem (GPS), a Glonass, a Beidou navigation satellite system(hereinafter referred to as “Beidou”), or a Galileo (i.e., the Europeanglobal satellite-based navigation system) according to an available areaor a bandwidth, and the like. Hereinafter, the “GPS” used herein may beinterchangeably with the “GNSS”. The wired communication may include atleast one of, for example, universal serial bus (USB) communication,high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) communication, recommendedstandard 232 (RS-232) communication, or plain old telephone service(POTS) communication, and the like. The network 862 may include atelecommunications network, for example, at least one of a computernetwork (e.g., a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN)),the Internet, or a telephone network.

Each of the first and second external electronic devices 802 and 804 maybe the same as or different device from the electronic device 801.According to an embodiment, the server 806 may include a group of one ormore servers. According to various embodiments, all or some ofoperations executed in the electronic device 801 may be executed inanother electronic device or a plurality of electronic devices (e.g.,the first external electronic device 802, the second external electronicdevice 804, or the server 806). According to an embodiment, if theelectronic device 801 should perform any function or serviceautomatically or according to a request, it may request another device(e.g., the first external electronic device 802, the second externalelectronic device 804, or the server 106) to perform at least part ofthe function or service, rather than executing the function or servicefor itself or in addition to the function or service. The otherelectronic device (e.g., the first external electronic device 802, thesecond external electronic device 804, or the server 806) may executethe requested function or the added function and may transmit theexecuted result to the electronic device 801. The electronic device 801may process the received result without change or additionally and mayprovide the requested function or service. For this purpose, forexample, cloud computing technologies, distributed computingtechnologies, or client-server computing technologies may be used.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of anelectronic device according to various example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 9, the electronic device 901 may include, for example,all or part of an electronic device 801 illustrated in FIG. 8. Theelectronic device 901 may include one or more processors (e.g.,including processing circuitry) 910 (e.g., application processors(APs)), a communication module (e.g., including communication circuitry)920, a subscriber identification module (SIM) 929, a memory 930, asecurity module 936, a sensor module 940, an input device (e.g.,including input circuitry) 950, a display 960, an interface (e.g.,including interface circuitry) 970, an audio module 980, a camera module991, a power management module 995, a battery 996, an indicator 997, anda motor 998.

The processor 910 may include various processing circuitry and drive,for example, an operating system (OS) or an application program tocontrol a plurality of hardware or software components connected theretoand may process and compute a variety of data. The processor 910 may beimplemented with, for example, a system on chip (SoC). According to anembodiment, the processor 910 may include a graphic processing unit(GPU) (not shown) and/or an image signal processor (not shown). Theprocessor 910 may include at least some (e.g., a cellular module 921) ofthe components shown in FIG. 9. The processor 910 may load a command ordata received from at least one of other components (e.g., anon-volatile memory) into a volatile memory to process the data and maystore various data in a non-volatile memory.

The communication module 920 may have the same or similar configurationto a communication interface 1370 of FIG. 8. The communication module920 may include, various communication circuitry, such as, for example,and without limitation, the cellular module 921, a wireless-fidelity(Wi-Fi) module 922, a Bluetooth (BT) module 923, a global navigationsatellite system (GNSS) module 924 (e.g., a GPS module, a Glonassmodule, a Beidou module, or a Galileo module), a near fieldcommunication (NFC) module 925, an MST module 926, and a radio frequency(RF) module 927.

The cellular module 921 may provide, for example, a voice call service,a video call service, a text message service, or an Internet service,and the like through a communication network. According to anembodiment, the cellular module 921 may identify and authenticate theelectronic device 901 in a communication network using the SIM 929(e.g., a SIM card). According to an embodiment, the cellular module 921may perform at least part of functions which may be provided by theprocessor 910. According to an embodiment, the cellular module 921 mayinclude a communication processor (CP).

The Wi-Fi module 922, the BT module 923, the GNSS module 924, the NFCmodule 925, or the MST module 926 may include, for example, a processorfor processing data transmitted and received through the correspondingmodule. According to various embodiments, at least some (e.g., two ormore) of the cellular module 921, the Wi-Fi module 922, the BT module923, the GNSS module 924, the NFC module 925, or the MST module 926 maybe included in one integrated chip (IC) or one IC package.

The RF module 927 may transmit and receive, for example, a communicationsignal (e.g., an RF signal). Though not shown, the RF module 927 mayinclude, for example, a transceiver, a power amplifier module (PAM), afrequency filter, or a low noise amplifier (LNA), or an antenna, and thelike. According to another embodiment, at least one of the cellularmodule 921, the Wi-Fi module 922, the BT module 923, the GNSS module924, the NFC module 925, or the MST module 926 may transmit and receivean RF signal through a separate RF module.

The SIM 929 may include, for example, a card which includes a SIM and/oran embedded SIM. The SIM 929 may include unique identificationinformation (e.g., an integrated circuit card identifier (ICCID)) orsubscriber information (e.g., an international mobile subscriberidentity (IMSI)).

The memory 930 (e.g., a memory 830 of FIG. 8) may include, for example,an embedded memory 932 and/or an external memory 934. The embeddedmemory 932 may include at least one of, for example, a volatile memory(e.g., a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), asynchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), and the like), or a non-volatile memory(e.g., a one-time programmable read only memory (OTPROM), a programmableROM (PROM), an erasable and programmable ROM (EPROM), an electricallyerasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), a mask ROM, a flash ROM, a flashmemory (e.g., a NAND flash memory or a NOR flash memory, and the like),a hard drive, or a solid state drive (SSD)).

The external memory 934 may include a flash drive, for example, acompact flash (CF), a secure digital (SD), a micro-SD, a mini-SD, anextreme digital (xD), a multimedia car (MMC), or a memory stick, and thelike. The external memory 934 may operatively and/or physically connectwith the electronic device 901 through various interfaces.

The security module 936 may be a module which has a relatively highersecure level than the memory 930 and may be a circuit which storessecure data and guarantees a protected execution environment. Thesecurity module 936 may be implemented with a separate circuit and mayinclude a separate processor. The security module 936 may include, forexample, an embedded secure element (eSE) which is present in aremovable smart chip or a removable SD card or is embedded in a fixedchip of the electronic device 901. Also, the security module 936 may bedriven by an OS different from the OS of the electronic device 901. Forexample, the security module 936 may operate based on a java card openplatform (JCOP) OS.

The sensor module 940 may measure, for example, a physical quantity ormay detect an operation state of the electronic device 901, and mayconvert the measured or detected information to an electrical signal.The sensor module 940 may include at least one of, for example, agesture sensor 940A, a gyro sensor 940B, a barometer (barometricpressure) sensor 940C, a magnetic sensor 940D, an acceleration sensor940E, a grip sensor 940F, a proximity sensor 940G, a color sensor 940H(e.g., red, green, blue (RGB) sensor), a biometric sensor 940I, atemperature/humidity sensor 940J, an illumination sensor 940K, or anultraviolet (UV) sensor 940M. Additionally or alternatively, the sensormodule 940 may further include, for example, an e-nose sensor (notshown), an electromyography (EMG) sensor (not shown), anelectroencephalogram (EEG) sensor (not shown), an electrocardiogram(ECG) sensor (not shown), an infrared (IR) sensor (not shown), an irissensor (not shown), and/or a fingerprint sensor (not shown), and thelike. The sensor module 940 may further include a control circuit forcontrolling at least one or more sensors included therein. According tovarious embodiments, the electronic device 901 may further include aprocessor configured to control the sensor module 940, as part of theprocessor 910 or to be independent of the processor 910. While theprocessor 910 is in a sleep state, the electronic device 901 may controlthe sensor module 940.

The input device 950 may include various input circuitry, such as, forexample, and without limitation, a touch panel 952, a (digital) pensensor 954, a key 956, or an ultrasonic input device 958. The touchpanel 952 may use at least one of, for example, a capacitive type, aresistive type, an infrared type, or an ultrasonic type. Also, the touchpanel 952 may further include a control circuit. The touch panel 952 mayfurther include a tactile layer and may provide a tactile reaction to auser.

The (digital) pen sensor 954 may be, for example, part of the touchpanel 952 or may include a separate sheet for recognition. The key 956may include, for example, a physical button, an optical key, or akeypad. The ultrasonic input device 958 may allow the electronic device901 to detect a sound wave using a microphone (e.g., a microphone 988)and to verify data through an input tool generating an ultrasonicsignal.

The display 960 (e.g., a display 860 of FIG. 8) may include a panel 962,a hologram device 964, or a projector 966. The panel 962 may include thesame or similar configuration to the display 160 or 860. The panel 962may be implemented to be, for example, flexible, transparent, orwearable. The panel 962 and the touch panel 952 may be integrated intoone module. The hologram device 964 may show a stereoscopic image in aspace using interference of light. The projector 966 may project lightonto a screen to display an image. The screen may be positioned, forexample, inside or outside the electronic device 901. According to anembodiment, the display 960 may further include a control circuit forcontrolling the panel 962, the hologram device 964, or the projector966.

The interface 970 may include various interface circuitry, such as, forexample, and without limitation, a high-definition multimedia interface(HDMI) 972, a universal serial bus (USB) 974, an optical interface 976,or a D-subminiature 978. The interface 970 may be included in, forexample, a communication interface 870 shown in FIG. 8. Additionally oralternatively, the interface 970 may include, for example, a mobile highdefinition link (MHL) interface, an SD card/multimedia card (MMC)interface, or an infrared data association (IrDA) standard interface.

The audio module 980 may convert a sound and an electric signal in dualdirections. At least part of components of the audio module 980 may beincluded in, for example, an input and output interface 850 (or a userinterface) shown in FIG. 8. The audio module 980 may process soundinformation input or output through, for example, a speaker 982, areceiver 984, an earphone 986, or the microphone 988, and the like.

The camera module 991 may be a device which captures a still image and amoving image. According to an embodiment, the camera module 991 mayinclude one or more image sensors (not shown) (e.g., a front sensor or arear sensor), a lens (not shown), an image signal processor (ISP) (notshown), or a flash (not shown) (e.g., an LED or a xenon lamp).

The power management module 995 may manage, for example, power of theelectronic device 901. According to an embodiment, though not shown, thepower management module 995 may include a power management integratedcircuit (PMIC), a charger IC or a battery or fuel gauge. The PMIC mayhave a wired charging method and/or a wireless charging method. Thewireless charging method may include, for example, a magnetic resonancemethod, a magnetic induction method, or an electromagnetic method, andthe like. An additional circuit for wireless charging, for example, acoil loop, a resonance circuit, or a rectifier, and the like may befurther provided. The battery gauge may measure, for example, theremaining capacity of the battery 996 and voltage, current, ortemperature thereof while the battery 996 is charged. The battery 996may include, for example, a rechargeable battery or a solar battery.

The indicator 997 may display a specific state of the electronic device901 or part (e.g., the processor 910) thereof, for example, a bootingstate, a message state, or a charging state, and the like. The motor 998may convert an electric signal into mechanical vibration and maygenerate vibration or a haptic effect, and the like. Though not shown,the electronic device 901 may include a processing unit (e.g., a GPU)for supporting a mobile TV. The processing unit for supporting themobile TV may process media data according to standards, for example, adigital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) standard, a digital videobroadcasting (DVB) standard, or a mediaFlo™ standard, and the like.

Each of the above-mentioned elements of the electronic device accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure may be configured withone or more components, and names of the corresponding elements may bechanged according to the type of the electronic device. The electronicdevice according to various embodiments of the present disclosure mayinclude at least one of the above-mentioned elements, some elements maybe omitted from the electronic device, or other additional elements maybe further included in the electronic device. Also, some of the elementsof the electronic device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be combined with each other to form one entity, therebymaking it possible to perform the functions of the correspondingelements in the same manner as before the combination.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of aprogram module according to various example embodiments.

According to an embodiment, the program module 1010 (e.g., a program 840of FIG. 8) may include an operating system (OS) for controllingresources associated with an electronic device (e.g., an electronicdevice 801 of FIG. 8) and/or various applications (e.g., an applicationprogram 847 of FIG. 8) which are executed on the OS. The OS may be, forexample, Android, iOS, Windows, Symbian, Tizen, or Bada, and the like.

The program module 1010 may include a kernel 1020, a middleware 1030, anapplication programming interface (API) 1060, and/or an application1070. At least part of the program module 1010 may be preloaded on theelectronic device, or may be downloaded from an external electronicdevice (e.g., a first external electronic device 802, a second externalelectronic device 804, or a server 806, and the like of FIG. 8).

The kernel 1020 (e.g., a kernel 841 of FIG. 8) may include, for example,a system resource manager 1021 and/or a device driver 1023. The systemresource manager 1021 may control, assign, or collect, and the likesystem resources. According to an embodiment, the system resourcemanager 1021 may include a process management unit, a memory managementunit, or a file system management unit, and the like. The device driver1023 may include, for example, a display driver, a camera driver, aBluetooth (BT) driver, a shared memory driver, a universal serial bus(USB) driver, a keypad driver, a wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) driver, anaudio driver, or an inter-process communication (IPC) driver.

The middleware 1030 (e.g., a middleware 843 of FIG. 8) may provide, forexample, functions the application 1070 needs in common, and may providevarious functions to the application 1070 through the API 1060 such thatthe application 1070 efficiently uses limited system resources in theelectronic device. According to an embodiment, the middleware 1030(e.g., the middleware 843) may include at least one of a runtime library1035, an application manager 1041, a window manager 1042, a multimediamanager 1043, a resource manager 1044, a power manager 1045, a databasemanager 1046, a package manager 1047, a connectivity manager 1048, anotification manager 1049, a location manager 1050, a graphic manager1051, a security manager 1052, or a payment manager 1054.

The runtime library 1035 may include, for example, a library module usedby a compiler to add a new function through a programming language whilethe application 1070 is executed. The runtime library 1035 may perform afunction about input and output management, memory management, or anarithmetic function.

The application manager 1041 may manage, for example, a life cycle of atleast one of the application 1070. The window manager 1042 may managegraphic user interface (GUI) resources used on a screen of theelectronic device. The multimedia manager 1043 may determine a formatutilized for reproducing various media files and may encode or decode amedia file using a codec corresponding to the corresponding format. Theresource manager 1044 may manage source codes of at least one of theapplication 1070, and may manage resources of a memory or a storagespace, and the like.

The power manager 1045 may act together with, for example, a basicinput/output system (BIOS) and the like, may manage a battery or a powersource, and may provide power information utilized for an operation ofthe electronic device. The database manager 1046 may generate, search,or change a database to be used in at least one of the application 1070.The package manager 1047 may manage installation or update of anapplication distributed by a type of a package file.

The connectivity manager 1048 may manage, for example, wirelessconnection such as Wi-Fi connection or BT connection, and the like. Thenotification manager 1049 may display or notify events, such as anarrival message, an appointment, and proximity notification, by a methodwhich is not disturbed to the user. The location manager 1050 may managelocation information of the electronic device. The graphic manager 1051may manage a graphic effect to be provided to the user or a userinterface (UI) related to the graphic effect. The security manager 1052may provide all security functions utilized for system security or userauthentication, and the like. According to an embodiment, when theelectronic device (e.g., an electronic device 100 or 801 of FIG. 1 or 8)has a phone function, the middleware 1030 may further include atelephony manager (not shown) for managing a voice or videocommunication function of the electronic device.

The middleware 1030 may include a middleware module which configurescombinations of various functions of the above-described components. Themiddleware 1030 may provide a module which specializes according tokinds of OSs to provide a differentiated function. Also, the middleware1030 may dynamically delete some of old components or may add newcomponents.

The API 1060 (e.g., an API 845 of FIG. 8) may be, for example, a set ofAPI programming functions, and may be provided with different componentsaccording to OSs. For example, in case of Android or iOS, one API setmay be provided according to platforms. In case of Tizen, two or moreAPI sets may be provided according to platforms.

The application 1070 (e.g., an application program 847 of FIG. 8) mayinclude one or more of, for example, a home application 1071, a dialerapplication 1072, a short message service/multimedia message service(SMS/MMS) application 1073, an instant message (IM) application 1074, abrowser application 1075, a camera application 1076, an alarmapplication 1077, a contact application 1078, a voice dial application1079, an e-mail application 1080, a calendar application 1081, a mediaplayer application 1082, an album application 1083, a clock application1084, or payment application 1085. Additionally, or alternatively,though not shown, the application 1070 may include a health careapplication (e.g., an application for measuring quantity of exercise orblood sugar, and the like), or an environment information application(e.g., an application for providing atmospheric pressure information,humidity information, or temperature information, and the like), or thelike.

According to an embodiment, the application 1070 may include anapplication (hereinafter, for better understanding and ease ofdescription, referred to as “information exchange application”) forexchanging information between the electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 801 of FIG. 8) and an external electronic device(e.g., the first external electronic device 802 or the second externalelectronic device 804). The information exchange application mayinclude, for example, a notification relay application for transmittingspecific information to the external electronic device or a devicemanagement application for managing the external electronic device.

For example, the notification relay application may include a functionof transmitting notification information, which is generated by otherapplications (e.g., the SMS/MMS application, the e-mail application, thehealth care application, or the environment information application, andthe like) of the electronic device, to the external electronic device(e.g., the first external electronic device 802 or the second externalelectronic device 804). Also, the notification relay application mayreceive, for example, notification information from the externalelectronic device, and may provide the received notification informationto the user of the electronic device.

The device management application may manage (e.g., install, delete, orupdate), for example, at least one (e.g., a function of turning on/offthe external electronic device itself (or partial components) or afunction of adjusting brightness (or resolution) of a display) offunctions of the external electronic device (e.g., the first externalelectronic device 802 or the second external electronic device 804)which communicates with the electronic device, an application whichoperates in the external electronic device, or a service (e.g., a callservice or a message service) provided from the external electronicdevice.

According to an embodiment, the application 1070 may include anapplication (e.g., the health card application of a mobile medicaldevice) which is preset according to attributes of the externalelectronic device (e.g., the first external electronic device 802 or thesecond external electronic device 804). According to an embodiment, theapplication 1070 may include an application received from the externalelectronic device (e.g., the server 806, the first external electronicdevice 802, or the second external electronic device 804). According toan embodiment, the application 1070 may include a preloaded applicationor a third party application which may be downloaded from a server.Names of the components of the program module 1010 according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure may differ according to kinds ofOSs.

According to various embodiments, at least part of the program module1010 may be implemented with software, firmware, hardware, or at leasttwo or more combinations thereof. At least part of the program module1010 may be implemented (e.g., executed) by, for example, a processor(e.g., a processor 820 of FIG. 8). At least part of the program module1010 may include, for example, a module, a program, a routine, sets ofinstructions, or a process, and the like for performing one or morefunctions.

The terminology “module” used herein may refer, for example, to a unitincluding one of hardware, software, and firmware or two or morecombinations thereof. The terminology “module” may be interchangeablyused with, for example, terminologies “unit”, “logic”, “logical block”,“component”, or “circuit”, and the like. The “module” may be a minimumunit of an integrated component or a part thereof. The “module” may be aminimum unit performing one or more functions or a part thereof. The“module” may be mechanically or electronically implemented. For example,the “module” may include, for example and without limitation, at leastone of a dedicated processor, a CPU, an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC) chip, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or aprogrammable-logic device, which is well known or will be developed inthe future, for performing certain operations.

According to various example embodiments of the present disclosure, atleast part of a device (e.g., modules or the functions) or a method(e.g., operations) may be implemented with, for example, instructionsstored in computer-readable storage media which have a program module.When the instructions are executed by a processor, one or moreprocessors may perform functions corresponding to the instructions. Thecomputer-readable storage media may be, for example, a memory.

The computer-readable storage media may include a hard disc, a floppydisk, magnetic media (e.g., a magnetic tape), optical media (e.g., acompact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) and a digital versatile disc(DVD)), magneto-optical media (e.g., a floptical disk), a hardwaredevice (e.g., a ROM, a random access memory (RAM), or a flash memory,and the like), and the like. Also, the program instructions may includenot only mechanical codes compiled by a compiler but also high-levellanguage codes which may be executed by a computer using an interpreterand the like. The above-mentioned hardware device may be configured tooperate as one or more software modules to perform operations accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure, and vice versa.

Modules or program modules according to various example embodiments ofthe present disclosure may include at least one or more of theabove-mentioned components, some of the above-mentioned components maybe omitted, or other additional components may be further included.Operations executed by modules, program modules, or other components maybe executed by a successive method, a parallel method, a repeatedmethod, or a heuristic method. Also, some operations may be executed ina different order or may be omitted, and other operations may be added.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure described and shown in thedrawings are provided as examples to describe technical content and helpunderstanding but do not limit the present disclosure. Accordingly, itshould be understood that besides the embodiments listed herein, allmodifications or modified forms derived based on the technical ideas ofthe present disclosure are included in the present disclosure as definedin the claims, and their equivalents.

The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure can beimplemented in hardware, firmware or via the execution of software orcomputer code that can be stored in a recording medium such as a CD ROM,a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a magnetic tape, a RAM, a floppy disk, ahard disk, or a magneto-optical disk or computer code downloaded over anetwork originally stored on a remote recording medium or anon-transitory machine readable medium and to be stored on a localrecording medium, so that the methods described herein can be renderedvia such software that is stored on the recording medium using a generalpurpose computer, or a special processor or in programmable or dedicatedhardware, such as an ASIC or FPGA. As would be understood in the art,the computer, the processor, microprocessor controller or theprogrammable hardware include memory components, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash,etc. that may store or receive software or computer code that whenaccessed and executed by the computer, processor or hardware implementthe processing methods described herein.

The control unit may include various processing circuitry, such as, forexample, and without limitation, a microprocessor or any suitable typeof processing circuitry, such as one or more general-purpose processors(e.g., ARM-based processors), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), aProgrammable Logic Device (PLD), an Application-Specific IntegratedCircuit (ASIC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a GraphicalProcessing Unit (GPU), a video card controller, etc. In addition, itwould be recognized that when a general purpose computer accesses codefor implementing the processing shown herein, the execution of the codetransforms the general purpose computer into a special purpose computerfor executing the processing shown herein. Any of the functions andsteps provided in the Figures may be implemented in hardware, softwareor a combination of both and may be performed in whole or in part withinthe programmed instructions of a computer. In addition, an artisanunderstands and appreciates that a “processor” or “microprocessor” maybe hardware in the claimed disclosure.

According to various example embodiments of the present disclosure, animproved screen may be provided by displaying a curve more smoothly.

While the present disclosure has been illustrated and described withreference to various example embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure as defined by the appended claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a display; aprocessor operatively connected to the display and configured togenerate display data to be output via the display; a display driverintegrated circuit configured to output, via the display, a screencorresponding to the display data, wherein the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to: output the screen including an imagedisplaying area and a boundary area disposed between the imagedisplaying area and a blank area, the blank area partially surroundingthe image displaying area and no image being displayed in the blankarea, and apply color transformation values of different magnitudes topixels of a curved area of the boundary area depending on distances fromthe image displaying area to locations of the pixels of the curved areaof the boundary area so that at least a portion of colors of theboundary area becomes darker moving away from the image displaying area,based on the color transformation values.
 2. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the display driver integrated circuit is configured to:apply color transformation values of different magnitudes to pieces ofdisplay data to be displayed through the pixels of the curved area ofthe boundary area.
 3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein thedisplay driver integrated circuit is configured to: apply colortransformation values to pieces of display data to be displayed on anarea of the curved area which is close to the image displaying area, forcolors of the pieces of display data to be similar to original colors ofthe pieces of display data.
 4. The electronic device of claim 2, whereinthe display driver integrated circuit is configured to: apply colortransformation values to pieces of display data to be displayed on anarea of the curved area which is close to the blank area, for colors ofthe pieces of display data to be similar to a color of pieces of displaydata of the blank area.
 5. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein thedisplay driver integrated circuit is configured to: apply colortransformation values, magnitudes of which gradually increase, to thepieces of display data to be displayed through the pixels of the curvedarea of the boundary area.
 6. The electronic device of claim 2, whereinthe display driver integrated circuit is configured to: calculating thecolor transformation value corresponding to pieces of display data to bedisplayed in the curved area.
 7. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the processor is configured to: generate a screen imageaccording to execution of an application and provide the screen image tothe display driver integrated circuit, wherein the display driverintegrated circuit is configured to: display the screen image in which adisplay area includes the blank area so that specified display data aredisplayed, an image displaying area configured such that display dataaccording to the execution of the application are displayed, and aboundary area between the blank area to be displayed with the specifieddisplay data and the image displaying area to be displayed with thedisplay data according to the execution of the application.
 8. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the image displaying area has acircular shape based on at least one of the blank area or the boundaryarea.
 9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the display driverintegrated circuit is configured to: apply the same first colortransformation value to pieces of display data to be displayed on anarea of the curved area within a first distance from a specified pointin the image displaying area.
 10. The electronic device of claim 9,wherein the display driver integrated circuit is configured to: apply avalue, which is corresponding to original colors of the pieces ofdisplay data to be displayed on the display area within the firstdistance from the specified point are displayed, to the pieces ofdisplay data.
 11. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the displaydriver integrated circuit is configured to: apply the same second colortransformation value to pieces of display data to be displayed on adisplay area being out of a second distance, which is greater than thefirst distance, from the specified point.
 12. The electronic device ofclaim 11, wherein the display driver integrated circuit is configuredto: apply a value, which is corresponding to the pieces of display datato be displayed on the display area being out of the second distance,which is greater than the first distance, from the specified point aredisplayed with a specified color, to the pieces of display data.
 13. Theelectronic device of claim 11, wherein the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to: apply a value, which is corresponding to thepieces of display data to be displayed on the display area being out ofthe second distance, which is greater than the first distance, from thespecified point are displayed with a black screen, to the pieces ofdisplay data.
 14. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:an auxiliary memory configured to store the color transformation value.15. A method for driving a display, the method comprising: receiving,from a memory, a screen including an image displaying area and aboundary area disposed between the image displaying area and a blankarea, the blank area at least partially surrounding the image displayingarea and no image being displayed in the blank area, obtaining a valueof a location of the boundary area, at which display data are to beoutput; calculating a distance between the value and a specified pointof the display; calculating color transformation values to be applied tothe display data depending on the calculated distance; applying thecalculated color transformation values for pixels of a curved area ofthe boundary area based on a distances from the image displaying area tolocations of the pixels of the curved area of the boundary area, so thatat least a portion of colors of the boundary area becomes darker movingaway from the image displaying area based on the color transformationvalues; and outputting the display data, to which the colortransformation value is applied, on the display.
 16. The method of claim15, wherein the applying includes at least one of: applying the samefirst color transformation value to display data to be output on adisplay area between the specified point and a first point; applying thesame second color transformation value to display data to be output on adisplay area being out of a second point that is more distant from thespecified point than the first point; and applying a colortransformation value, a magnitude of which varies according to adistance from the specified point, to display data to be output on adisplay area between the first point and the second point.
 17. Themethod of claim 15, further comprises: generating, by one or moreprocessor, a screen image according to execution of an application andproviding the screen image to the display driver integrated circuit,wherein the outputting includes: outputting, by the display driverintegrated circuit, the screen image including an image displaying areahaving a circular shape, which is centered at the specified point,according to the execution of an application, a blank area surroundingthe image displaying having the circular shape, and a boundary areabetween the image displaying area having the circular shape and theblank area surrounding the circular shape.
 18. A display driverintegrated circuit comprising: a receive interface configured to receivedisplay data from a processor; a memory configured to store the displaydata; a mask processing unit, comprising circuitry, configured to obtaininformation about a location of a display area, at which the displaydata stored in the memory are to be output, to output a screen includingan image displaying area and a boundary are disposed between the imagedisplaying area and a blank area, the blank area at least partiallysurrounding the image displaying area and no image being displayed inthe blank area, to calculate color transformation values of differentmagnitudes for pixels of a curved area of the boundary area based ondistances from the image displaying area to locations of the pixels ofthe curved area of the boundary area, so that at least a portion ofcolors of the boundary area becomes darker moving away from the imagedisplaying area based on the color transformation values, and to outputthe display data, to which the color transformation values are applied;and a display timing controller configured to output the display data ona display.
 19. The display driver integrated circuit of claim 18,further comprising: an auxiliary memory configured to store the colortransformation values.
 20. An electronic device comprising: a displayincluding a pixel matrix comprising four curved corner areas between ablank area and an image display area, wherein each of the curved cornerareas comprises a step-wise pixel arrangement and corresponds to acurved shape of the display; a processor operatively connected to thedisplay and configured to generate display data to be output via thedisplay; a display driver integrated circuit configured to output, viathe display, a screen corresponding to the display data, wherein thedisplay driver integrated circuit is configured to: receive the displaydata from the processor, the display data including pixel datacorresponding to the image display area and the curved corner areasbetween the blank area and the image display area; apply colortransformation values of different magnitudes to the display datacorresponding to each of the curved corner areas of the display so thata smoother curved appearance is provided along the step-wise pixelarrangements at each of the curved corner areas, based on the colortransformation values; and output signals, corresponding to the displaydata with the color transformation values applied thereto, to the pixelmatrix of the display.
 21. The electronic device of claim 20, whereinthe display driver integrated circuit is further configured to: applycolor transformation values to the display data to be displayed on anarea of the curved corner areas which are close to the image displayingarea, for colors of display data to be similar to original colors of thedisplay data.
 22. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein the displaydriver integrated circuit is further configured to: apply colortransformation values to the display data to be displayed on an area ofthe curved corner areas which are close to the blank area, for colors ofdisplay data to be similar to a color of display data of the blank area.23. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein the display driverintegrated circuit is further configured to: apply color transformationvalues, magnitudes of which gradually increase, to the display data tobe displayed through the pixels of the curved corner areas.
 24. Theelectronic device of claim 20, wherein the image displaying area has acircular shape based on at least one of the blank area or the boundaryarea.
 25. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein the display driverintegrated circuit is further configured to: apply the same first colortransformation value to the display data to be displayed on an area ofthe curved corner areas within a first distance from a specified pointin the image displaying area.
 26. The electronic device of claim 25,wherein the display driver integrated circuit is further configured to:apply a value, which is corresponding to original colors of display datato be displayed on the display area within the first distance from thespecified point are displayed, to the display data.
 27. The electronicdevice of claim 25, wherein the display driver integrated circuit isfurther configured to: apply the same second color transformation valueto display data to be displayed on a display area being out of a seconddistance, which is greater than the first distance, from the specifiedpoint.
 28. The electronic device of claim 27, wherein the display driverintegrated circuit is further configured to: apply a value, which iscorresponding to the display data to be displayed on the display areabeing out of the second distance, which is greater than the firstdistance, from the specified point are displayed with a specified color,to the display data.
 29. The electronic device of claim 27, wherein thedisplay driver integrated circuit is further configured to: apply avalue, which is corresponding to the display data to be displayed on thedisplay area being out of the second distance, which is greater than thefirst distance, from the specified point are displayed with a blackscreen, to the display data.
 30. The electronic device of claim 20,wherein the display driver integrated circuit is further configured to:calculating the color transformation value corresponding to display datato be displayed in the curved corner area.
 31. The electronic device ofclaim 20, further comprising: an auxiliary memory configured to storethe color transformation values.
 32. An electronic device comprising: adisplay including a pixel matrix comprising four curved cornersincluding a blank area, a curved image area and a curved boundary areabetween the blank area and the curved image area, wherein the pixelmatrix comprises a stair shape at the curved boundary area of the curvedcorner, and non-curved edges are disposed between the four curvedcorners; a processor configured to generate display data to be outputvia the display; a display driver integrated circuit configured tooutput signals corresponding to the display data, wherein the displaydriver integrated circuit is configured to: receive the display datafrom the processor, the display data comprising data corresponding tothe curved image area and the curved boundary area, generate and apply acolor transformation values of gradually different magnitudes to pixelsof the curved boundary areas from the curved image area toward the blankarea of the curved corner area so that a color of each of the curvedboundary areas becomes darker moving away from the curved image areaand/or the stair shape at each of the boundary areas provides a smoothercurved appearance, based on the color transformation values, and outputsignals, corresponding to the display data with the color transformationvalues applied thereto, to the pixel matrix of the display.
 33. Anelectronic device comprising: a display comprising at least one curvededge region including a blank area, a curved image area and a curvedboundary area between the blank area and the curved image area, whereinpixels of the curved boundary area of the curved edge region comprisestair shape for representing a curved edge; a processor configured togenerate display data to be output via the display; a display driverintegrated circuit configured to output signals corresponding to thedisplay data, to the display, wherein the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to: receive the display data from the processor,generate and apply color transformation values of gradually differentmagnitudes to pixels of the curved boundary area from the curved imagearea toward the blank area such that a color of the curved boundary areabecomes darker toward the blank area based on the color transformationvalues, and output signals, corresponding to the display data with thecolor transformation values applied thereto, to the pixel matrix of thedisplay such that the stair shape at the curved boundary area provides asmoother curved appearance.
 34. The electronic device of claim 33,wherein the gradually different magnitudes are based on distances from aspecified point in the curved image area to the pixels in the curvedboundary area.
 35. The electronic device of claim 34, wherein thedisplay driver integrated circuit is configured to: apply the same firstcolor transformation value to the display data to be displayed on the atleast one curved edge region within a first distance from a specifiedpoint in the curved image area.
 36. The electronic device of claim 35,wherein the display driver integrated circuit is configured to: apply avalue, which is corresponding to original colors of display data to bedisplayed on the at least one curved edge region within the firstdistance from the specified point are displayed, to the display data.37. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein the display driverintegrated circuit is configured to: apply the same second colortransformation value to display data to be displayed on the at least onecurved edge region being out of a second distance, which is greater thanthe first distance, from the specified point.
 38. The electronic deviceof claim 37, wherein the display driver integrated circuit is configuredto: apply a value, which is corresponding to the display data to bedisplayed on the at least one curved edge region being out of the seconddistance, which is greater than the first distance, from the specifiedpoint are displayed with a specified color, to the display data.
 39. Theelectronic device of claim 37, wherein the display driver integratedcircuit is configured to: apply a value, which is corresponding to thedisplay data to be displayed on the at least one curved edge regionbeing out of the second distance, which is greater than the firstdistance, from the specified point are displayed with a black screen, tothe display data.